Drivers never too old to learn safety skills
Published 10:17 pm Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Feel very comfortable with Joey Amposta at the helm. Perfectly qualified to teach safe driving, the Navy diver “drove” mini submarines during the Vietnam War.
We thank him for his service, and hail his volunteer efforts to keep our roads safe.
When he moved to Marysville in 2003, he volunteered to be a driver safety instructor for the AARP Driver Safety Program, a week after he completed the course.
His personality was noticed.
“I’m gregarious,” Amposta, 69, said. “I like to be with people.”
Amposta is now the program district coordinator for Snohomish County.
“I wanted to be active,” Amposta said. “It’s hard just sitting around.”
He earned the right to relax. Raised in the Philippines as one of nine children in his family, he learned English as a second language.
Amposta enlisted in the Navy in 1959 and volunteered for submarine duty in 1961. He took naval correspondence classes, leaned over shoulders and asked others about their jobs, cleverly advancing to work as a machinist’s mate, mini-submarine operator, Navy diver, nuclear fast-attack submarine diving officer, chief survival instructor and he worked with internal security.
“I stayed in the Navy for 22 years and retired as a chief petty officer. After I got out of the Navy, I was offered a job as a senior logistics analyst in the Trident submarine program in Bangor. I held that position for 16 years until I opted for early retirement in 1996.”
For fun, he loves to travel in an RV, cook and dance with his wife, Cheryl. They have four grown children.
Jason Erskine of AARP Washington said some folks over age 50 have never looked back since they got their licenses.
“Even the most experienced drivers can benefit when given the chance to brush up on their driving skills,” Erskine said. “The program has been completed by more than 12 million people since 1979.”
In Snohomish County, there are 18 volunteer instructors and they can always use more, Amposta said. The eight-hour classes are completed in one or two days.
It costs $10 for materials. Insurance companies may offer discounts up to 10 percent after completing the class, Amposta said.
Amposta said he doesn’t believe you stop learning because you reach a certain age.
He said the biggest problem with senior drivers, and I can hear a resounding applause here from the younger set, is that we don’t make good left turns and insist on the right of way.
Learn that in class. There is driving required.
Men, you need the instruction as well as women.
“Senior guys drive so many years, you become complacent,” Amposta said. “We teach them to not let their guard down and to expect the unexpected. Be aware of 360 degrees around you and to maintain a safe distance from other vehicles. Make driving the only job when you are behind the wheel.”
One class graduate was 94 years old.
For my senior peers, here is a little test: Do you put your hands on the steering wheel at 10 and 2 o’clock?
Not any more.
It’s 9 and 3 o’clock these days or even 8 and 4 o’clock. Things have changed over the decades.
“When is the last time you read the driving book?” Amposta asked me.
Oh, about 40 years ago I muttered.
Did I know I have to stop for pedestrians, even if they aren’t in a crosswalk?
When’s the next class?
Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.
How to sign up
To find an upcoming class near you, go online to www.aarp.org/drive or call 888-227-7669.
